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The top five web design trends for next year

Trends come and go, perhaps more so in web design than any other medium.

The ever growing usage of mobile and tablets has led us to change how the user interacts with our sites, which has impacted on design too.

Here are five trends that we think will be popular in 2015. (And this doesn’t include responsive design as surely everyone now knows that’s not a trend, it’s here for good!)

1 – Fonts following corporate branding

We used to accept that fonts on websites were simply rubbish, that all changed a few years back when things improved dramatically thanks to @fontface and more recently Google fonts. Whilst too many fonts on a site can increase load times, it’s standard for most designers to move away from the traditional web safe fonts and towards something a little more exciting. So has the time for big brands to start using their branding fonts for body text?

2 – Infographics move to Webgraphics

We love images, they quickly convey messages and draw the eye more than text. That’s why Infographics are so popular, as it’s a simple way to present data and often boring stats without losing the viewers attention. But in 2015 we want more! That’s why Webgraphics are coming. They are similar to Infographics, but involve more interaction from the viewer, think of them as Infographics 2.0!

3 – Even bigger header areas

Sliders are great, they show what the main focuses of a website are in a quick and understood way, they also allow for the easy positioning of keyword relevant text and a h1 tag in the all important top 720 pixels of a page. But they have been around a while now and large, bold header (or hero) areas are becoming more popular and they could be a really big trend for next year. Plus there is a move towards fewer characters of text, something that could have a negative impact on SEO though.

4 – Pages that go on and on and on…..

People like to scroll, possibly because it’s a subconscious movement, rather than a more considered clicking action. This and the 2014 trend of long, sectionalised websites, has led to a revived phenomenon; single page sites that go on and on down the page. It’s also something that suits some of the recent design trends of horizontal sections and when done well creates a superb looking and also functioning website. Saying that it doesn’t suit sites with large amounts of content, or those with very structured navigational layouts.

This technique is used very well in selling sites that tell a story before converting and is one that will be really interesting to see develop. Plus it lends it self to….

5 – Colour and patterned blocks

Using different variations of a single colour or a few colours is a great way to separate sections of a website, typically they fill the screen horizontally and lend themselves well to corporate branding through colour association. Contrasts can be used to great effect with this method, with white text on a block of colour drawing the eye for call to actions.

We’ve recently incorporated patterns into some blocks, not standard stock backgrounds, but patterns created from either a company logo or image. It’s also great for keeping things simple, something that we could all remember sometimes!

So that’s it, our top 5 trends for 2015. Let’s see how we get on when we revisit in late 2015!